


in fire and blood (we'll forge a way)

by The_German_Grim_Reaper



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Runaways (TV 2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christine Everhart is the newscaster reporting on the games, Lots of character death, Multi, Who wins? you'll have to wait and see, You Have Been Warned, characters listed by district (not plot importance)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2020-05-20 08:42:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_German_Grim_Reaper/pseuds/The_German_Grim_Reaper
Summary: Twenty-four tributes.  One victor.  What happens when characters from the Avengers, X-Men, and Runaways grow up in Panem?  The answer: the shortest Games in history.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just be clear about one thing: this is *not* a crossover where the characters are magically transported from their own franchise to the Hunger Games. This is an au where they actually live in Panem and it's the only life they've ever known. Ok?
> 
> The first chapter is short because it just serves to introduce the characters very briefly. The other chapters will be much longer and more detailed.

“You all know who won the Games.You all saw it happen.”Christine Everhart began, standing in front of the audience with a glimmering turquoise dress on her hips and a too-wide smile on her face.“But before we say hello to our esteemed victor, let’s take a moment to remember all twenty-four tributes who entered the games… and the twenty-three who did not make it out.”

She waved her hand as she sat down, and the screen behind her lit up with scenes from the chariot rides, the interviews, and training.

 

District One.Charles Xavier and Jean Gray stood together as their chariot rode into the Capitol.Their pitch-dark bodysuits were punctuated by bright yellow- the most expensive and luxurious dye to make, to represent their District.They were both giving smiles to the crowd, although Charles especially did not look enthusiastic.

 

District Two.Natasha Romanoff was sitting at her interview, black dress clinging to her curves while she shot the audience a predatory smile.Erik Lehnsherr was in training, hefting a giant chunk of concrete and throwing it from one side of the gym to the other.

 

District Three.Tony Stark was grinning at the crowd and waving as he stood in his chariot, the crowd going wild as he blew kisses to some of the women there.Beside him, Jane Foster stood shyly in a dark green dress, glancing over her shoulder to look at the chariot behind her.

 

District Four.Ororo Monroe stood in her chariot in little more than a black bathing suit and a golden cape, the fourteen-year-old shrinking into herself at the attention from the crowds around her.Chase Stein stood boldly beside her, wearing a plain black suit with golden buttons and meeting people’s eyes unflinchingly.

 

District Five.In training, Thor Odinson swung a hammer and brought it down onto a training dummy, cracking its plastic chest.At her interview, Gertrude Yorkes greeted the crowd in a flowing purple toga that trailed on the ground behind her.

 

District Six.Carol Danvers sparred with an unseen opponent in training, swinging her sword in broad strokes as her eyes flashed with determination.Bruce Banner stood at his interview, looking very uncomfortable in a green velvet suit with a purple tie.

 

District Seven.Eric ‘Killmonger’ Stevens stood in his chariot, bare-chested as he held his fist up in the air.Beside him, Mantis stood in sharp green lines, the youngest competitor flinching away from her partner.

 

District Eight.Karolina Dean graced her interviewer with a dazzling smile as her silvery dress reflected rainbows of softly glowing light.Drax ‘the Destroyer’ swung at a training dummy, sending it flying across the room.

 

District Nine.Clint Barton held hands with his stricken district partner and lover, Laura, as her pregnancy was revealed in front of the entire Capitol at her interview.

 

District Ten.Okoye stood tall in her chariot, red and gold bodysuit glittering, as she met the Capitol with pride.Beside her, T’Challa stood in gold and black with a solemn expression on his face.

 

District Eleven.Alex Wilder sat in his interview, a nervous smile on his face.In training, Nico Minoru picked a spear off of the weapons rack and began to twirl it in her hands.

 

District Twelve.Pepper Potts stood in a dirty coal miners’ uniform, her carrot orange hair a stark contrast to the black and gray dust, as her chariot moved through the Capitol.Beside her, Scott Summers looked miserable in a matching outfit, coal dust smudged around his eyes.

 

“Twenty-four tributes entered the games.”Christine continued as the slideshow came to an end.“Only one made it out.Our victor this year is undoubtedly one of the most talented tributes we have seen in the history of the Hunger Games.Give it up, everybody, for the victor of the Seventh Annual Hunger Games!”

The audience burst into applause, and the curtains drew back to reveal the victor.


	2. Day One: The Bloodbath

Scott looked to his left.Jean was all the way on the other side of the cornucopia, next to the dark-haired boy from District One.She met his gaze and nodded once, a clear signal. _We make a run for it._

Scott still couldn’t believe his luck. He was just a boy from Twelve.Sure, his family was from the richer end of the district, but it was still _Twelve_.His parents were a coal mine overseer and a schoolteacher.He wasn’t favored to make it past the first twenty minutes, much less win the whole thing.So how had he, Scott Summers, managed to win an alliance with _Jean_ , of all people?

His training scores hadn’t been terrible, but they hadn’t been _great_ either.A six was, quite literally, average.Jean could have allied herself with the other tributes from One, Two, and Four, like her mentor had told her to.Or she could have sought out the boy from Five- he’d made a _ten_ in training.Or the pair from Ten, Okoye and T’Challa, who had scored a nine and an eight (respectively).Pretty much anyone would have made a better alliance than Scott, and yet Jean had come to him anyway.

He couldn’t help but think back to their shared kiss on the roof.“ _They don’t think I can win it._ ”She had said.“ _They think I’m weak._ ”

“I _think you can win._ ”He had told her, honestly.“ _You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met._ ”

She had laughed at that.“ _I think Thor would disagree with that._ ”

“ _But it’s true.I’m not just talking about physical strength.Thor doesn’t have what it takes to kill.Charles doesn’t.Neither do I.But you do.And that’s why you’ll win this thing.When it comes down to it, you’ll do what it takes._ ”

She’d kissed him, then.It had been soft, chaste, but lingering all the same.“ _We’ll both get out of here,_ ” she had promised, “ _I’ll make sure of it._ ”

Scott wasn’t going to win.Of that, he was sure.He would do his best, he would stand by Jean, and when worst came to worst, he would do what it took to save her.He’d only known her for a few days, but he was fairly certain he was falling in love.That was a dangerous thing in the games, and he knew he didn’t deserve her, but he felt it all the same.

“ _Survive the bloodbath._ ”She had told him.“ _I’ll help you.The others think I’m on their side, they won’t hurt me.Get away from the Cornucopia and I’ll find you.I’ll bring weapons, food, supplies.Just get away, and I will_ always _find you._ ”

The countdown ticked down slowly.Ten seconds.Nine.Eight.As soon as the timer hit zero, Scott would be taking off, running through the trees as fast as he could to get away from the bloodbath that was sure to come.

“Hey, T’Challa.”Eric’s voice called.Scott’s eyes snapped to him, senses jolting at the unexpected noise.Who was stupid enough to talk during the countdown?A distraction was the _last_ thing any of them needed.

“What?”T’Challa fixed him with a heavy, no-nonsense stare.

“Watch this.”As Scott watched on in horror, Eric lifted something from his pocket.Scott couldn’t quite make out what it was- some sort of small metal bead, about the size of a quarter, that Eric had brought as a token from his district.He swung his arm over his shoulder, releasing the bead with pinpoint accuracy.

He flung the bead through the air, headed straight towards his unsuspecting target.It hit Bruce’s shoulder with just enough force to make him stumble.Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem; when twenty-four teenagers were standing on motion-activated landmines, it most definitely was.

There was a moment of hushed silence as Bruce tried and failed to catch his balance.Scott was on the other side of the Cornucopia, unable to do anything as the bombs activated and a loud boom shook the arena.In the shocked stillness that followed, Eric was the first to move; he ran towards the Cornucopia, a proud smirk resting on his face.

Scott forced himself to tear his gaze away from the bloody crater that used to be Bruce Banner.He ran towards the forest, trying to tune out the sounds of screaming behind him.Once he has crossed into the trees, he ducked behind a tree to catch his breath.

“Scott!”Jean’s voice came from behind him.He looked back over his shoulder, ducking underneath a tree branch as he did so.She was running towards him, carrying two bags over her shoulder and holding a knife in her free hand.

At first he was confused.Why was Jean changing the plan?She was supposed to stick with the Careers until the bloodbath was over, and then join him when things were safe.But here she was, running at him with a look of horror on her face.“Behind you!”She yelled, tossing the knife through the air.

Scott reached out to catch it, turning around in an attempt to dodge the attack.Drax was standing behind him- that thirteen year old from Eight, the one they’d all thought was completely useless and overconfident- and Scott felt a thrill of fear.He ducked Drax’s punch, catching Jean’s knife and wincing as the blade cut his skin.He adjusted his grip and lashed out.

Drax caught his wrist and jerked it to the side.Scott couldn’t help but scream as he felt the bone pop out of place.How was Drax that _strong_?He dropped the knife.

“Get away from him!”Jean snarled.She was getting close now.But Drax was closer.He bent down and picked up a branch from the ground, swinging it at Scott as he ducked away from the blow.Drax swung again, and again, and it was only a matter of time before one of his blows connected.Where was Jean?She should have been here by now.

Drax’s branch caught him on the side of the head.Scott screamed in pain as the bark tore into his skin, knocking him to the ground.He tried to struggle to his feet, but Drax was already swinging again.This time, he caught him squarely in the face.His vision was red with blood. Someone was screaming- was it him?The branch came down again for a third and final time.

This time, Scott Summers did not get up.

 

 

Ororo ran towards the Cornucopia.She wasn’t an idiot; she _knew_ that it was a bad idea.But how was she supposed to last a day if she didn’t have any food, weapons, or water?So she ran for the Cornucopia, looking for something small she could grab and get out of there.

The hotshot tributes from One, Two, and Four had formed an alliance. _She_ was supposed to be a part of that alliance.Her mentor had told her, time and time again, that her only chance of survival was to side with the alliance.They had done it last year, and almost all of the alliance tributes had made it to the end.Of course, then the boy from Two had killed them all, but still.It was the thought that counted.

The problem was, they didn’t want her.She had tried to convince them she would be a useful part of the alliance.Natasha had just looked her up and down once and given her a look, as if to say “ _What could you_ possibly _have to offer?_ ”Erik, at least, had been nicer about it.But they were right.She was a nobody.She was only 14, and even her makeshift electric snare and uncanny ability to tell the weather had only earned her three points in training.Which meant that, for all intents and purposes, she was on her own.

The boy from Twelve was running for the trees, the boy from Eight right behind him.The girl from One- _Jean_ , she thought- was going after them, although Ororo couldn’t imagine why.Jean was part of the alliance, a weak tribute from the outer districts was worth nothing to her.

She hadn’t been next to Bruce.That, at least, was something to be thankful for.Those who had been next to him- Carol from Six and Mantis from Seven- were covered in a fine layer of blood and gore from what had once been his body.Ororo was far enough away that, when the timer stopped, she wasted no time and sprang down from her pedestal.

The ground was hard beneath her feet.Clouds of dust stirred beneath her as she ran.The boy from Three and the boy from Nine were fighting, grappling over a sword that lay forgotten on the ground.Behind them, the girl from Two was picking up a knife and turning on the boy from Eleven.Ororo ducked around them, making a mad dash for a small backpack that is leaning against the Cornucopia.

There was a scream.A terrible scream, a scream of pain and anguish.Moments later, there was another- this one from someone else.Ororo glanced towards the sound as she dropped to her knees, skidding under another tribute’s outstretched arms and grabbing the backpack.She didn’t have time to linger on it, but she thought she saw the girl from Nine collapsing to the ground.Laura, the one who might have been pregnant.

There was a cannon.She didn’t know who it was she didn’t have _time_ to know, she dodged an attack from Eric and kept running.

She war almost to the trees when the knife hit her.It took her a moment to realize it, to understand why her back suddenly felt like it was on fire.She stopped running and fell to the ground.

 _Maybe_ , she thinks, _she can still make this work_. She’s in pain, but she’s not dead yet.Maybe if she just stays here for a few minutes, just until she can catch her breath, she can escape without being noticed.Another cannon has just gone off; maybe they’ll think it’s hers, leave her alone until she can figure out what to do.

She lays there for what feels like hours.The battle rages around her.She’s slipping in and out of consciousness, still feeling the knife digging into her back.Footsteps approach her.

“This one’s dead?”A half-familiar voice asked. _Chase?He was her district partner, maybe he would help._

There was a moment of silence, and then something slammed into Ororo’s side.She couldn’t stop a groan of pain from escaping.“Guess not.”Natasha Romanoff’s voice said.

The knife was pulled out of her back.Ororo wanted to scream, but she couldn’t quite manage the sound.She was rolled over onto her back.

Chase and Natasha were standing over her.Chase almost looked like he felt sorry for her, but Natasha’s face was cold.She held the knife in her hand, still covered in Ororo’s blood.Ororo blinked hazily.Natasha moved the knife in one swift, deadly motion.

Moments later, another cannon sounded.Ororo Monroe’s body stared up at the sky with glassy, unseeing eyes.Eyes that would never see again.

 

 

Gert wasn’t the strongest of the tributes, or the fastest, and she probably wasn’t even the cleverest.That’s not to say she wasn’t clever, just that she wasn’t the same level of genius as Tony Stark or Alex Wilder.But she had allies and she had a plan, and that was all she needed.

She was, quite unfortunately, standing fairly close to Bruce Banner when the bombs went off.As such, his unfortunate demise left her covered in dirt and chunks of flesh.She stood there for a moment, frozen, as the other tributes began to run.

“What are you _doing_?”Nico screamed.“Gert, _run_!”

The sound of her friend’s voice spurred her into motion.Gert spun on her heels and ran away from the Cornucopia, pelting towards the woods as fast as her legs could carry her.The boy from Eight loomed in front of her, holding a blood-splattered branch in his hands, and she veered away from him, adjusting her course accordingly.

“Gert!”Alex was suddenly beside her, matching her pace.“We need to get out of here!”

“I _know_ that!”She snapped, breathing heavily.“I’m not an idiot!”

Karolina’s scream came suddenly, unexpectedly, and Gert skidded to a halt.She and Alex exchanged a glance.“ _Karolina_.”She realized.

“Nico will help her.”Alex told her.“We need to get somewhere safe.”

“We can’t just leave her!”Gert argued.“She’s our friend!”

Alex hesitated.Mentally cursing herself for doing something this _stupid_ , Gert turned and ran in the other direction.Towards the bloodbath, towards Karolina and Nico and Chase.

Karolina was battling the boy from One, although it was clear that neither of them had any idea how to use the swords they were holding.There was a deep cut on Karolina’s arm, blood running down her flesh.

She needed a weapon.Everything from the ground had already been picked up, but- there!The boy from Nine was surveying the battle, a large knife strapped to his side.His back was to Gertrude.If she could just-

A long spear blocked her path.She fell, unable to stop herself in time, and found herself pinned beneath the spear.The girl from Nine- Okoye, Gert remembered- was glaring down at her.

Gert looked up at her with wide eyes.It was one thing to _know_ about the Games, to know you were going to be a part of them.It was quite another to actually _be_ here, surrounded by blood, staring death in the face.

Okoye hesitated.After a moment, she drew back her spear so that Gert could get up.“I will not kill you this time.”She enunciated clearly, “but if you threaten T’Challa again, I will not be merciful.”

Gert lay there, paralyzed by fear.She was seconds away from having a panic attack.She knew she was an easy target, here on the edge of the bloodbath with no weapons, but she couldn’t force herself to move.

A hand grabbed her arm.She jolted sharply, expecting to feel a knife in her throat at any second, but instead was met with the dark eyes of Nico Minoru.

“ _Run_.”Nico told her.Karolina was beside her, clutching her wounded arm and carrying a sword.Gert allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and joined the others in running.

Alex should have been waiting for them in the woods.That was the first sign that something was wrong.He hadn’t followed her back to the bloodbath, so he should have been waiting for them.But they had no time to look for him.While there was no sign that they were being followed- _yet_ \- it was still suicide to stay so close to the other tributes.

They had been hiking for almost an hour in silence when Karolina tripped.It wasn’t her fault, really; she was injured, she was carrying a heavy sword, and she hadn’t even had a bit of water to drink.She tripped over a stone in the ground and fell, catching herself with both hands as her sword clattered to the ground.They had been heading up a hill that fell away at both sides, and unfortunately for Karolina, her sword fell just a little bit too close to the edge.It clattered down the steep incline, vanishing into the bushes below.

There was a moment of silence.“I’ll get it.”Gert offered.She was in desperate need of something useful to do, after all.Karolina and Nico had gotten supplies and fought with the other tributes, Chase was undercover with the tributes from One and Two, and all Gert had done was lose Alex and almost get herself killed.She climbed down the hill after the sword.

She ducked underneath a particularly thorny bush and reached for the hilt of the sword.But as she picked it up, she paused.

“Hey, guys.”She called.“Come down here.”

“What?”Karolina asked, climbing down the hill after her.

“Do you hear that?”

It was faint, but clearly there.The sound of running water.If nothing else, they _needed_ fresh water.Karolina and Nico had gotten supplies, but there hadn’t been any water at the Cornucopia.Gert forged onwards into the bushes in search of the source.As she pushed through the brambles, she was greeted with a welcome sight.

There was a clearing between the trees, hidden from the hills above by the sheer amount of brambles that surrounded it.Tree branches arched over it, shielding it from the hot summer sun.At the back, there was a jumble of boulders that seemed to have rolled down from the hill above.There was a steady flow of water down the rocks, forming a small pool of crystal clear water below.

“Guys.”Gert turned to Karolina and Nico, who were standing behind her.“I think we’ve just found our camp."


	3. Day 1.5

 

“After an opening day that was… _unexpected_ , to say the least, it’s time to check the scores.”Christine Everhart smiled as the screen behind her changed to show the list of tributes.“Our first death this year was District Five’s Bruce Banner, with District Seven’s ‘Killmonger’ setting the record for the earliest kill.”

There were twenty-four names on the screen, five of them crossed out.She waved her hand and they rearranged themselves, with the five dead at the bottom and the others organized by their odds of winning.At the top was Erik Lehnsherr from Two, and at the bottom was Gert Yorkes from Five.

“In the lead right now is Erik Lehnsherr, the able-bodied metalworker from District Two.Two of his fellow district mates have already won in games past- will he clinch their third victoryin four years?

“Following just behind him is someone that nobody saw coming.Young Drax ‘the Destroyer’ from District Eight already has two kills to his name, against all the odds.He brutally took down Scott Summers with a tree branch and strangled Alex Wilder At only thirteen years old, will he be able to take down his competitors?Or will his own overconfidence be his downfall?Only time will tell.”

Someone off the screen said something, and Christine turned to listen.She turned back to the camera, a spark of excitement in her eye.

“We’ve got some exciting news for you.It looks like two of our strongest competitors, Eric ‘Killmonger’ and Drax ‘the Destroyer’ are going to be facing off.Place your bets now, good citizens- things are about to get interesting.”

 

The screen cut away to show the darkness of the forest.Drax was dozing off, leaning against a tree and still clutching the branch he’s used to kill Summers.Christine wouldn’t be surprised if replicas of it turned up as a collector’s item before the Games were done.Another camera showed Killmonger, walking through the woods as if he didn’t have a care in the world.He was even whistling quietly- so he was either an idiot or he _wanted_ to be found.

The Capitol and all the districts of Panem watches in horror and awe as Drax woke and the two fought.Drax was strong, maybe stronger than Killmonger.Both were vicious.But no amount of strength could make up for the simple fact that Killmonger was _trained_.It was over in minutes.The cannon sounded for Drax’s death.

 

“Well, it looks like Drax ‘the Destroyer’ is out of the running.”Christine announced.“Bad luck for some of my colleagues who were betting on him.That makes the sixth tribute dead in as many hours.I’ve got good news for those of you who are fans of Mantis- as our youngest contestant this year, many were ready to see her die in the bloodbath, but not only did she escape unharmed, she has allied herself with one of her strongest competitors.More on that at twelve…”

 

**Tributes:**

  1. Jean Grey, Charles Xavier
  2. Natasha Romanoff, Erik Lehnsherr
  3. Jane Foster, Tony Stark
  4. Chase Stein
  5. Gertrude Yorkes, Thor Odinson
  6. Carol Danvers
  7. Mantis, Eric Killmonger
  8. Karolina Dean
  9. Clint Barton
  10. Okoye, T’Challa
  11. Nico Minoru
  12. Pepper Potts



 

**Deaths:**

  1. Bruce Banner (District Six.Killed by Eric Killmonger.)
  2. Scott Summers (District Twelve.Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)
  3. Laura Barton (District Nine.Killed by Erik Lehnsherr.)
  4. Alex Wilder (District Eleven.Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)
  5. Ororo Monroe (District Four.Killed by Natasha Romanoff.)
  6. Drax the Destroyer (District Eight.Killed by Eric Killmonger.)




	4. Day 2: Alliances & Betrayals

“We need to find food and water.”Pepper told him, brushing the leaves out of her hair as she stood up.“We can’t stay here forever.”

She was right.They couldn’t.They hadn’t been able to find a suitable place the night before, and had settled for sleeping in the shrubbery beneath a large oak tree.It had been largely uncomfortable and he’d barely been able to sleep at all, but at least they had been hidden from the other tributes.

“I know.”Tony told her, standing up.They were eight hours and six deaths into the Games.“There must be a river around here somewhere.”

“I’ve seen a few animals in the woods.”Pepper mused, sounding thoughtful.“Maybe we could set up a snare.”

“We don’t have any weapons.”Tony pointed out.They had both run away from the bloodbath and had run into each other soon after.Which, unfortunately, meant that they had no supplies whatsoever.

“We don’t need them.”She said, gracing him with a small smile.“I spent a lot of time at the traps and snares station in training.All we need to do is find some strong vines and a good tree.”

“I don’t really know what I’m looking for.”Tony admitted.It was times like this when he was reminded of how much he admired Pepper.He hadn’t thought much of her in training- the girl from Twelve who didn’t even know how to hold a knife- but there was a lot more to the games than fighting.If he could get his hands on some electronics, or even some welding equipment, he would be golden.But he had no idea how to find food or set traps for deer.

“That’s okay.I’ll find a tree, you just look for some vines or rope.”

Half an hour later, they had put together a serviceable snare.There weren’t any hanging vines- this wasn’t _that_ kind of forest- but Tony had managed to unwind some of the brambles and braid them together into a decently strong rope.Pepper, meanwhile, had found a tall young sapling over some deer tracks that could be bent down to the ground.When the deer walked over it, its feet would become caught in the snare, which would then pull tight and hold it in place.

“I wonder who the sixth death was.”He mused aloud as they traipsed through the forest.The nightly broadcast had shown five dead from the bloodbath- Ororo from Four, Banner from Six, the girl from Nine, and the boys from Eleven and Twelve- but there had been another cannon only minutes after the broadcast.

“Maybe it was Killmonger.”Pepper suggested hopefully.“Or Romanoff.”

Both were unlikely.But either one would give them a significant advantage in the Games, in that they were both fearsome competitors.And Killmonger had killed Bruce Banner, which Tony was still _very_ upset about.

He sighed.“I guess we’ll see tonight.”

He couldn’t help but wonder if it had been Jane.She was his district partner, a fellow science geek, and he didn’t want to think about her being killed.Still, she hadn’t exactly seemed like a survivalist, so it was entirely possible that… no.He didn’t want to think about it.It was more likely that it had been Mantis- that frail little girl from Seven- or maybe Gert Yorkes.

“There’s no sense waiting here until a deer comes by.”He changed the subject.“We’ll be better off looking for water and coming back to check on the snare in a few hours.”

Pepper agreed.“Let’s look for a place to camp while we’re at it.We shouldn’t stay out in the open if we don’t have to.”

 

Charles Xavier opened his eyes.The air was warm and moist and there was birdsong coming from the trees around him.It took a moment for him to remember where he was, and why- but when he did, he almost wished that he hadn’t.

Natasha Romanoff’s scowling countenance was the first thing to greet him as he stepped out of the tent.“Chase left.”She told him bluntly.

Charles blinked.That was… not entirely unexpected, but still disappointing.He’d thought that Chase had chosen their alliance over his friends from the other districts.He could hardly fault him for remaining loyal to his friends, of course, but it was a distinct loss to their alliance.

“Why did you not wake me?”He asked her.A perfectly reasonable question, in his opinion.“I could have convinced him to change his mind.”

“He was gone when I woke up.Took a bag of supplies with him, too.”She sounded angry about that, and quite rightfully so.

“And Erik?”Charles questioned.

“Out hunting.”She told him shortly.

Natasha had made no secret of her dislike of Charles.She had quite emphatically declared, both to Charles and to other members of their alliance, that Charles was ‘dead weight’ and ‘not fit to kill anyone’.On the second count, at least, she was not wrong.

“We have plenty of food.”There was nothing wrong with stocking up, of course, but meat would go bad within a few days and they had much more pressing concerns than that.

She raised an eyebrow.“Not for food.”

“Oh.”Charles knew, logically, that there was no way to escape the Games apart from winning.And to win, of course, would require all of the other participants to be dead.But still, it was unpleasant for him to think about committing cold-blooded murder- especially when the killer in question was _Erik_ , of all people.

“Haven’t heard any cannons,” she continued, “so he must not have found anybody yet.”

“What a shame.”He said flatly.

“Not really.”She smirked, leaning in just a bit closer to make her words hit harder.“Leaves more of them for me.”

Charles grimaced.“I think I’ll go find Erik.”He decided.“Do you know which direction he went?”

Natasha pointed.Charles nodded, thanked her, and left the camp, grabbing an apple on his way out.It was extremely unlikely that he would actually find Erik, of course, but he would take any excuse to get away from Natasha for a little bit.He could quite honestly say that he had never been frightened by anyone more than the coldhearted redhead from District Two.He hated the way she looked at him, like she was dangerous.Like she was sizing up her prey.Yes, this was the Hunger Games, but Natasha seemed to act like it was an actual _game._ Like they were all just pawns on the chessboard and she, of course, was the queen.

Charles wasn’t exactly what you’d call a survivalist, but he liked to think he was good with people.He’d managed to convince Natasha and Erik to take him on, after all.And he was, even more so, good at reading people.He could tell that Erik was a good person, even though he was willing to kill to survive; he’d been able to tell that Raven was just a desperate little girl and not a thief, and now she was his sister.But he couldn’t read Natasha.Whenever he tried, it felt like she was reading him instead.And that was a thought that scared him.

As Charles walked, he kept a close eye on his surroundings.It simply wouldn’t do to be brutally murdered in the middle of the woods because he had been distracted thinking about _Natasha_ , of all people.

There was a footprint on the forest floor. It was small- too small to be Erik’s- but if Charles had seen it, Erik probably had too.That meant he was on the right track.He walked in the direction that the footprint had been pointing and soon enough found himself on a deer trail.

As much attention as Charles was paying to his surroundings, it was apparently not enough.He didn’t notice the trap until he’d walked into it, snapping tight around his legs and pulling him to the ground.He screamed as he felt the snap of bone.

Charles tried to pull his legs out of the trap, but every movement was agony.The ropes were tight around his legs, holding him firmly in place.All he could do now was wait, and hope that whoever found him wasn’t the one who had set the trap.

 

“Are you sure this is the best place?”Jane asked him again.They had made the trek from the cornucopia and walked all through the night, until they’d reached a place where the ground was mostly flat and there were more elm trees than rocks.

“Of course I’m sure.”Thor gave her a dopey smile.“See, the ground is flat enough to build a camp, but high enough that any water will run down that way.And the trees give us just enough shelter to be the start of a hut.”

“But we’re only a day’s walk from the Cornucopia.”She fretted.“What if someone finds us?”

“They won’t.”He said simply.“And if they do, I’ll fight them off.”  
Thor had been one of those favored to win the games.Jane had been one of those largely ignored by the Capitol- not good enough to be a favorite, but not bad enough to be laughed at either.But Thor had, for whatever reason, sat at her table the first day of training and made an offer of friendship.Jane had been skeptical at first, but now here they were, a day into the Games and still alive.

“So how to we build this thing?”She asked, giving him a smile.He beamed back.

It took most of the morning to build their little lean-to.It was a quiet morning, and although Jane kept an ear out for other tributes, she heard nothing.There weren’t even any cannons to signal a new death.

“What do we do now?”She asked him when they were done.

He blinked, obviously not having thought this far ahead.“Er, I suppose we should gather some food.”He suggested after a moment.“I’ll admit I don’t know anything about plants…”  
“I do.”Jane told him. “Come on, I think I saw some berries over this way.”

They walked through the trees, and soon enough, they came across a little blueberry bush just where Jane remembered it.Beside it ran a small stream, where she could see small minnows darting to and fro.

A cannon went off.Jane jerked her head up to look at the sky, but there was nothing there.Of course there wasn’t.There wouldn’t be until that night, when the anthem played and they were shown images of the dead.Still, she couldn’t help but be shaken by the reminder of the constant danger they were in.

“Hey.”Thor gave her a soft smile, as if sensing her discomfort.“It’ll all be okay.We’ve got food and water and a house.You don’t have to worry about the others.”

“Maybe for now, but sooner or later they’ll come for us.”She pointed out.“We can’t hide forever.”

That was true.They both knew it.The Games had to end eventually.Only one person was going to make it out.No matter how long they stayed here, eventually someone would find them, and there would be a fight.

“Don’t worry about that.”He soothed her.“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

 

 

There was something about this place that Nico couldn’t quite explain.She was in an arena, being watched by hundreds if not thousands of Panem citizens, and yet she felt like she was at home.Not her actual home, of course- that was all glass walls and apple orchards and pretending to get along with her parents.This felt different.

Okay, maybe Nico _did_ know what it was.She just didn’t want to admit it.Her house in District Eleven hadn’t felt like home in years.Ever since Amy died.Her sister had been the very first tribute killed in the very first year of the Hunger Games.With her gone, there was nobody that Nico had felt close to.

But here, in the Games, she’d found friends.She might even go so far as to say she’d found a _family_.Karolina, Alex, and Gert (and Chase, she supposed) were her family.And yes, Alex was dead (and if Nico ever found out who had done it, she would find them and make them _suffer,_ Capitol be damned) and Chase had blood on his hands from the day before, but they were a family.

“Are you okay?”Karolina asked her, coming to sit beside her on the hill.

Nico glanced up at her with a small smile.“Yeah.Just keeping watch.”

“Mind if I join you?”She asked, absentmindedly tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear.

“Yeah.”Nico smiled.“Sure.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Karolina spoke again.“I’m sorry about Alex.I know you and him were close.”

Nico’s smile faltered.“Yeah.We’d known each other since we were kids.” _Since before Amy had died.Since before Nico’s life fell apart.Since before she knew that she was attracted to girls and boys both, and Alex had been the one to hold her as she cried about it._

“Is that a parachute?”Karolina asked suddenly.Nico followed her eyes to see that yes, actually, there was a little silver parachute falling at the base of the hill.

“I’ll get it.”Nico offered, but Karolina was already on her feet.

As Nico watched, Karolina vanished into the forest below.She could see the parachute hanging down where it had snagged on a tree.Then it was gone, pulled to the ground by a hand that must have been Karolina’s.

She waited.Karolina should have been back by now.The parachute hadn’t fallen _that_ far away.Nico stood up to go check on her. At that moment, there was a scream.

“Nico!”Karolina screamed.She sounded more afraid in pain, which was something at least.Nico took off down the hill in search of her voice.The call came again.“ _Nico_!”

Nico stumbled.She skidded down the hill, scraping her hands and knees on the rocks and stones.As she came to a stop at the base of the hill, she looked up into Karolina’s frightened eyes.

“Barton.”Karolina gasped out in way of an explanation, helping Nico to her feet.“He’s here.”

Nico’s blood ran cold.She pushed Karolina behind her, ignoring the sting in her hands.Sure enough, Barton came out of the undergrowth only seconds later.There were scratches on his face and skin and a wild look in his eyes.

“You don’t have to do this.”Nico tried, keeping a wary eye on Barton.

“You killed her.”He snarled.“She’s _dead_ because of you.”

“Get back to camp.”Nico murmured to Karolina.If they were lucky, Karolina could get Gert and Chase to help her; if not, at least Karolina would be safe.To Hawkeye, she said, “I haven’t killed anyone.I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”He spat.“ _Laura_.She shouldn’t have been in these Games and they killed her.”

“That’s not my fault.”Nico said desperately, taking a step backwards to keep the distance between her and Barton.“It wasn’t me, it was Erik- the boy from Two- _he_ killed her, not me.”

“It doesn’t matter.The Games killed her.The Capitol, they- they don’t care, about her, about us, about _any_ of this.”He continued desperately.Nico’s eyes widened imperceptibly.They all _knew_ that, of course, but to say it was suicide.

She continued backing up the hill as she spoke, praying to whoever was listening that she didn’t trip.Barton continued advancing, aiming his bow at her chest.His hands were shaking so much that it was a miracle he could hold the bow, much less aim it.

“You need to calm down, Barton.”She told him in a soothing voice.She was desperately going over plans and contingencies in her head.She had her staff, but she’d dropped it when she fell down the hill.Karolina had a sword in the camp, but that was no use if Nico was dead before she got back.Barton probably couldn’t shoot her, judging by how much he was trembling, but that was little consolation when he could just as easily overpower her physically or shove her off a cliff.

She stopped. _Shove him off a cliff,_ her mind repeated.They were almost on top of the hill now, the sides were steep- it was risky, but if she could get close enough to push him… the side he’d come up was easy enough to scale, as well as the side that hid their camp, but the side opposite the camp was rugged and steep.She moved until she was standing just by the edge, and then she waited.

“If it’s a fight you want, Barton, you’ve come to the wrong place.”She told him, keeping her voice level.“We’re on the same side here.I can help you find Erik, if that’s what you’re after.I can help you get your revenge.”

“I don’t need your help.”He argued, but he lowered his bow slightly.He was listening. _Just one more step_.

“We’re on the same side.”She repeated soothingly.“I know you miss her, but it’s not my fault.”

His face drew into a snarl and he raised his bow.Nico shoved.His eyes widened as he stumbled backwards, tumbling down the side of the hill.His head smashed against a rock at the bottom and he was still.A cannon sounded.

“Nico, are you okay?”Karolina’s voice came from behind her, breathless and afraid.Nico turned around.

“Yeah.”She took a deep breath, sitting down before her legs could give out.“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Is he dead?”Gert asked, looking hesitant to get too close.

“He must be.”Chase responded rom beside her.“We all heard the cannon.”

“He didn’t shoot you, did he?”Karolina demanded breathlessly.She dropped the sword that Nico hadn’t noticed she was holding.

Nico shook her head.“No.”She said.“No, he didn’t hurt me.What was in the parachute?”

“The parachute?”Karolina asked, looking down at the torn silver fabric in her hand as if she’d forgotten in was there.“I have no idea.”

She passed it to Nico, who tore open the package.Whether it was actually funny or just the exhaustion, the contents of the package were the final straw and Nico broke down into laughter.

“Heart-shaped candy.”She shook her head, still laughing, as she wiped a tear from her eye.“All that over a bit of heart-shaped candy.”

 

“We should probably go check on the snare.”Pepper suggested.She and Tony had spent most of the day hunting for a place to camp, but they hadn’t found one yet.Tony had received their first parachute- it had contained a small vial of gunpowder and a jar full of nails.She didn’t know what Tony was doing with it, and she wasn’t sure she _wanted_ to know.

“Alright.”He agreed easily, settling down the thing he was tinkering with and slipping it into his pocket.“Which way?”

Pepper led him through the woods.By the time they were getting close to the deer trail, Tony seemed to have recognized their surroundings, and he took the lead.

“Shh.”Pepper hissed suddenly, grabbing Tony’s arm to stop him from going any farther.“Listen.”

She was sure she’d heard a noise, but now the forest seemed silent.After a moment, just when she was ready to keep going and accept that it had been nothing, it came again.A muffled sob, coming from just ahead on the deer trail.

She ducked behind a thicket and Tony followed her.“Who is that?”He mouthed.She could only shrug in response, creeping along the forest floor as they drew closer to the source of the noise.

“Charles, my friend.”It was unmistakably Erik’s voice that spoke, although he didn’t sound like he had been crying.

“Erik.”Charles’s voice responded.He sounded strangled, like it was taking a tremendous amount of effort for him to speak.

“Oh, what _happened_ to you?”Erik murmured.Pepper peered around the bushes to see what was going on.Erik was kneeling over Charles’s mangled body, while Romanoff stood stoically behind him.And Charles…

She clamped a hang over her mouth, choking back a noise.Charles’s legs were a bloody mess, bent in ways that legs weren’t supposed to.Wrapped around them was the string from her trap.She felt like she was going to vomit.

“We’ll get you out of here.”Erik promised Charles.“You’re going to be fine.”

“He’s dead weight.”Romanoff pointed out.And, despite everything Pepper thought of her, Pepper couldn’t help but agree.Even if Charles did, somehow, make it out of the games, he would likely never walk again.There were some miracles that even the Capitol couldn’t perform. _And it was all her fault_.

“We can’t just _kill_ him.”Erik argued with her in defense of his friend.“He’s a part of our alliance, he’s…”

“Not worth anything to us.”Romanoff finished his sentence.“We should kill him.”

“He’s our _friend_.”

Her tone softened ever so slightly.“He’ll never survive in this state.It would be a mercy to kill him.”

There was a moment of silence.“I’ll do it.”Erik said after a few seconds.“Can you…”

She nodded and walked away.Erik drew his knife and held it to Charles’s throat, but hesitated.He lowered the knife.“I can’t do it.”He whispered.His words were only meant for Charles, but Pepper heard them anyway, a white-faced ghost in the bushes.“Forgive me, my friend.”

When he was gone, Pepper took a trembling step out of the bushes.She didn’t want to look at Charles, didn’t want to know how much damage her trap had done, but she had to.She owed him that much, at least.

“Pepper, what…” Tony trailed off as he saw Charles’s limp body.“Oh.”

“A nail.”Pepper managed to say, holding back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

“What?”

“A nail.”She repeated.“Now.”

Tony wordlessly passed her one of the nails from his pocket.Pepper took it and bent down next to Charles.

“I’m sorry.”She told him quietly.“I didn’t mean for this to happen.I am so, _so_ sorry.”

Charles turned his gaze on her, but his eyes were glazed over with the pain.She doubted he could even hear what she was saying.Pepper took a deep breath and, in one smooth motion, slit his throat.

His warm blood bubbled up over her hands and Pepper choked back her vomit.After a few seconds, Charles went completely limp.The cannon sounded.

She looked up at Tony with blood-soaked hands and tear-soaked cheeks.She took a deep breath and stood up.“Let’s go.”She told him, willing herself to be strong.

 

Jean had no idea how things had gone so badly so quickly.First she’d betrayed her alliance to run off with Scott- and wasn’t _that_ bad planning on her part- and then he had died, leaving her with no friends and no allies.

She supposed it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.She had supplies, at least, and the knife she had retrieved from Scott’s dead body.Nobody knew where she was and nobody was out to get her specifically.But still, she doubted there would ever be a night that went by without her seeing Scott’s face, blood still leaking from his eyes where Drax had hit him.

She had to rejoin the alliance.It was a risky move, at this point, but it was the only one she had.Erik didn’t like her and there was no way Natasha would trust her, but Charles would probably convince them to take her back.He was her district partner, after all, and he had been nothing but kind to her.So all she had to do was find her old alliance ( _somewhere near the Cornucopia_ , her mind told her) and convince them she was trustworthy.

It didn’t take her long to find them.They weren’t exactly hiding, after all.They had three tents set up and what seemed to be a dead chipmunk roasting over a spit.Erik looked up when he heard her footsteps.

“Jean.”His voice was wary.“Come to rub it in, I suppose?”

“I- what?”She blinked.That had not been a part of the script.“No, I came to rejoin the alliance."  
Natasha scoffed, giving Jean a disbelieving look.

“I know I betrayed you,” she plowed on, hoping to at least say her piece before they decided to kick her out, “but I can be useful.I have supplies.”

Erik scoffed.“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you where you stand.”

Jean hesitated.“Where’s Charles?”He would be on her side, she could count on that much at least.

Erik’s eyes darkened.“You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?”But the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.Jean recalled the cannons she’d heard earlier in the day.Had one of them been Charles?

Jean saw the attack coming before he even moved.She dodged, drawing her knife and holding it tightly.“Who killed him?”She wanted- no, she _needed_ \- to know.

“Does it matter?”He scoffed.“You left us, and he died.Now are you going to fight me, or are you going to run?”

Jean ran.She ran through the forest, dodging trees and leaping over brambles until she could no longer hear Erik’s footsteps behind hers.He was strong, but she was fast.She collapsed beneath a tall pine tree, gasping for breath.

“Carol?”A small voice asked.Jean tried to scramble to her feet, but slipped on the pine needles beneath her and fell down again.The voice squeaked.

As Jean caught her breath, she began to look around for the source of the voice.There was nobody there, but… her eyes caught on a glint of black in between two rocks.She shifted so that she could see between them, and found that it was not a cave exactly, but still a somewhat sheltered space where the rocks were leaning on one another.And in that space, shivering and looking up at Jean with wide black eyes, was a frightened child.

“Please don’t kill me.”Mantis squeaked.

Jean sighed.“I’m not going to kill you.”She promised.

Mantis relaxed, but only slightly.“If you kill me,” she said, “Carol will be mad at you.And you don’t want Carol to be mad at you.”

Jean couldn’t help but laugh.“No.”She agreed.“No, I definitely don’t.”

She hadn’t known Carol had allied herself with Mantis, although it made sense.She didn’t know Carol well, but from what Jean could tell, she was honorable.There was no way she would leave an innocent thirteen year old alone in the Games.

“Where _is_ Carol?”Jean asked her.Because Carol was strong, and smart, and honorable, which meant that she was very much someone Jean would like to have on her side.

“One of the others found us- Chase, the boy from Four.”Mantis explained.“She tried to lead him away.”

Jean cursed under her breath.“How long ago was that?”She asked, hoping it hadn’t been too long.

“Hours.”Mantis replied.“It must’ve been just after dawn.”

Jean cursed again.It was twilight now.Carol had been missing for a full day.

“Well,” She took a deep breath, “I guess it’s about time we found her.”She stood up and offered Mantis her hand.

Mantis took it with a shy smile.“Allies?”She asked.

Jean nodded.“Allies.”She said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not fully satisfied with this chapter, but here it is. Charles and Hawkeye are dead and alliances are shifting. Next update expected... maybe Saturday?


	5. Day 2.5

“What an exciting day for our tributes!” Christine Everhart’s smiling face beamed. “Only two deaths today, but they were certainly fun ones! Clint Barton from Nine, nicknamed ‘Hawkeye’, was killed by Nico Minoru from Eleven, marking her first kill in the games. Some of you may remember Nico’s older sister, Amy, who was the first death in the history of the Hunger Games. Whether Nico will win is still to be decided, but one thing is for certain- she’s already doing better than her sister.

  
“Barton’s death came as a shock to many viewers, who saw the friendly and muscular farm boy as a potential victor in these Games. After the swift death of his girlfriend, Laura, in the bloodbath, along with his unborn child, Barton’s death was only the last in a string of tragedies for District Nine.”

  
The screen behind her lit up to show Barton’s death, the heartbroken teen falling backwards in slow motion as Nico shoved him.

  
“Today also saw the death of one of our District One competitors.” Christine continued as the screen changed again. This time it showed the twitching corpse of Charles Xavier, legs still tangled in Pepper’s trap. “While I wish I could say this was a surprise, we all knew he was going to die sooner or later. Really, the only part that surprised me was that it was Pepper Potts who killed him. I didn’t think she’d get to him before Romanoff did. In a slow and gruesome death that is sure to stay in viewers’ hearts forever, Xavier was caught in Pepper’s snare and left for hours, until Miss Potts slit his throat with a sharpened nail.” The screen changed again, this time to the list of tributes. “Still in the lead is Erik Lehnsherr from District Two, although scores have been dropping after he failed to kill his ally and instead left him for Miss Potts to find. Coming up close behind him is his district partner, Natasha Romanoff, who many now agree is the real powerhouse from Two.”

  
She smiled and motioned to the bottom of the list. “Currently least likely to win is Jean Grey, our remaining tribute from District One. With no district partner and no strong allies, will she make it through the night? She has allied herself with Mantis from District Seven, our youngest and weakest competitor in this year’s competition. While they are searching for Carol Danvers, we do not yet know if Carol will accept Jean as an ally- or finish her off once and for all.”

 

Tributes:  
1\. Jean Grey  
2\. Natasha Romanoff, Erik Lehnsherr  
3\. Jane Foster, Tony Stark  
4\. Chase Stein  
5\. Gertrude Yorkes, Thor Odinson  
6\. Carol Danvers  
7\. Mantis, Eric Killmonger  
8\. Karolina Dean  
10\. Okoye, T’Challa  
11\. Nico Minoru  
12\. Pepper Potts

Deaths:  
1\. Bruce Banner (District Six. Killed by Eric Killmonger.)  
2\. Scott Summers (District Twelve. Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)  
3\. Laura Barton (District Nine. Killed by Erik Lehnsherr.)  
4\. Alex Wilder (District Eleven. Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)  
5\. Ororo Monroe (District Four. Killed by Natasha Romanoff.)  
6\. Drax the Destroyer (District Eight. Killed by Eric Killmonger.)  
7\. Clint Barton (District Nine. Killed by Nico Minoru.)  
8\. Charles Xavier (District One. Killed by Pepper Potts.)


	6. Day 3: Surrounded by Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3. Tributes are dropping like flies as those left struggle to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyy! so, you know how I said I would update this in a week or two? well, it's been more like two months, but I finally did it!

Gert rolled over and groaned.It was far too early to be up- she had stayed up on watch for half of the night before- but she couldn’t help it.She was cold.

They only had one sleeping bag, courtesy of Chase, and it was currently Nico’s turn to use it.Karolina was on watch, and Gert and Chase were left to make the most of the cold ground with nothing but a thin blanket to curl up under.

Speaking of Chase… where was he?Gert reached out to her side, but all she could feel was the grass and stone that covered the floor of their camp.She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Nico was still fast asleep in her sleeping bag, but Chase was nowhere to be seen.“Of _course_ he’s with Karolina.”Gert grumbled, getting up and stifling a yawn.Where else would Chase be, but with the gorgeous blonde from Eight?She made her way up the hill, shielding her face from the morning sun.

Karolina was alone.“How was watch?”Gert asked her bitterly.“Anything interesting happen?”

“Not really.”Karolina shrugged, not seeming to notice Gert’s tone of voice.“I think I saw a deer down that way.”

“And is that _all_ you saw?”Gert questioned, already sure of the answer.

“Uh… yeah.”Karolina frowned.“What’s wrong, Gert, are you okay?”

“Didn’t happen to see any tributes, then?”Gert continued, bitterness still evident in her tone.“No tall, handsome brunettes from District Four, maybe?”

“No.”Karolina frowned, mulling over Gert’s words in her mind.“Are you talking about Chase?I thought he was in camp with you.”

Gert scoffed.“Yeah, right.As if I’m actually going to believe that.”

“No, seriously.”Karolina stood up, meeting Gert’s eyes.There was confusion and worry in her face- Gert realized, belatedly, that she wasn’t faking it.“Chase isn’t in camp?He’s gone?”

Gert nodded.“He was gone when I woke up.I thought he’d come up here with you.”

“And the supplies?”Karolina asked urgently.“Gert, did you check the supplies?”

Gert shook her head.“No, but Chase wouldn’t-“

Karolina was already halfway down the hill.Gert took a deep breath and followed her.When she got to the base of the camp, Karolina was digging through their bags, looking frantic.“It’s gone.”She said breathlessly, looking up at Gert.

“What’s gone?”Gert asked, feeling like she was missing something.Beside them, Nico was sitting up in her sleeping bag, having been awoken by the commotion.

“The food.”Karolina explained.“The supplies.Everything.It’s all gone.”

“No.”Gert couldn’t believe it.Chase wouldn’t… would he?“I- he wouldn’t- there has to be some explanation.”

“What’s going on?”Nico asked, sounding concerned.She brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she spoke.

“Chase is gone.”Karolina explained.Gert’s mouth was dry.“He took the supplies with him.He’s gone back to the alliance, or- or to somewhere else, maybe, but he’s not here.”

“He knows where the camp is.”Nico’s expression was grave.“He can bring them back here.They’ll slaughter us.”

“Hold on a minute.”Gert objected.“How do we know there’s even an alliance?Charles is dead, and Ororo… maybe he’s just gone off on his own.”It was a sad state of affairs that that was the optimistic scenario, but it was at least better than Chase selling them out.

“That still leaves Erik, and Romanoff, and Jean.”Karolina pointed out.“And who knows who else they’ve gotten to join them.”

“I trust him.”Gert argued, but her argument was weak even to her own ears.

“He knows where the camp is.”Nico repeated.“We can’t risk it.”

Karolina nodded.“She’s right.We have to move.”

Gert looked between them.After a long moment, she nodded.“All right.”She said.“Let’s move.”

 

 

“Why should we believe you?”Erik demanded, standing before Chase with his sword drawn.“You’ve betrayed us once, you might do it again.”

Chase opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Natasha spoke up.“She’s telling the truth.”She said, watching Chase carefully.

“That doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind.”Erik argued with her.“We can’t trust him.”

“We can’t trust anybody.”She pointed out, standing up from where she had been leaning on the tree and taking a step towards the two of them.“Doesn’t mean he can’t be useful.”

“Useful?”Erik repeated.“What use could he possibly have?We already have supplies, we don’t need his.”

Natasha turned her gaze on Erik.He was hurting, that much was clear.Still upset about Charles, no doubt.That was why Natasha was going to win the games, and not her partner- he was too soft.

“He knows where the others are.”She said, turning back to Chase.He suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights.“Don’t you?”

“I- they don’t matter.”He tried to say.“They’ll die anyway.I can help you track down the ones that have a chance- Drax, Danvers, Killmonger…”. He trailed off.

Natasha laughed.Still trying to protect his friends, then.“Drax is dead.”She told him.“Didn’t you see the broadcast?And I think your friends _do_ matter, if you’re so desperate to protect them.”

Chase hesitated.

“How can we trust you,” she continued in a silky voice, “if you continue to choose them over us?”

“I can’t just betray them.” He argued, although she could tell she almost had him convinced.

“Fine, then.”She said.“A deal.You tell us where they are, we let your girlfriend live.You don’t, then… let’s just say you won’t want to be her when I find her.”

That did it.She always knew just where to strike.Chase swallowed and nodded.“They have a camp.It’s about an hour’s walk from here, a little valley between the hills.”

Natasha smiled.“Take us there.”

The camp was empty when they arrived.Only the muddy bootprints in the grass showed that anyone had been there at all.“Split up.”Natasha decided at once. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”

Erik nodded.As she passed by him, she leaned in to whisper in his ear.“Don’t let him out of your sight.”Erik nodded again to show that he had heard her.

Natasha followed the footprints up the hill until they vanished in the forest.They seemed to be heading back towards the Cornucopia.Their footprints were still fresh, so they couldn’t have gone far.

Sure enough, she had only been walking for a few minutes when she heard voices.“I’m telling you, he wouldn’t betray us.”One of them was saying.Natasha recognized her as the girl from Five.

“We can’t risk it.”The girl from Eleven- what was her name?Nico?- insisted.“He could lead them right to us.”

“He won’t.”Five argued.

Natasha stepped out from behind the trees, a small smirk playing on her lips.“Are you so sure about that?”She asked, eyes narrowing in satisfaction as all three girls whirled around to face her.

“Romanoff.”Nico greeted her, wary.She reached for her staff, careful not to make any sudden movements.

“Eleven.” Natasha greeted her with faux politeness.“Five.Eight.”

She knew their names, of course.But did their names really matter?All they were was targets, one more step between her and victory.She didn’t enjoy killing, of course, but she wasn’t afraid of it either.Killing, to her, was something as natural as breathing; controlled, effortless, unavoidable.

“You don’t have to do this.”Karolina told her, gripping her sword tightly.“You can still walk away.”

“This is hardly a fair fight.”Gert added.

Natasha rolled her shoulders and thought about where she would strike first.Gert was the easy target, of course- weaponless and afraid.Karolina wasn’t a good fighter, but she knew enough to be a danger if Natasha didn’t pay her mind.And Nico was easily the most dangerous of the three, so she should be taken out as quickly as possible.

“You’re right.”She agreed pleasantly.“It’s not fair at all.Good luck.”

With that, she struck.First at Karolina, then at Nico, ducking under Karolina’s swing and knocking the sword from her grasp.Nico managed to hit her in the leg with her staff, but Natasha worked through the pain and continued on unflinchingly.Gert did try to put up a fight, surprisingly, but it was weak and uncoordinated.Natasha kicked her in the side of the head, knocking her to the ground.She turned back to Karolina and Nico, who were both glaring at her.

A cannon sounded.She’d hurt Gert, yes, but a bit of a headache wasn’t exactly going to kill her. _Chase, then._ Erik must have come to the same conclusion she did, that he was of no use to them anymore.Karolina and Nick both flinched, obviously wondering which one of their fellow tributes had fallen.

Their split second’s wavering was all Natasha needed.She lunged forward, flipping off the ground and trapping Nico’s head between her legs.As she fell, she twisted, feeling the crunch of Nico’s neck as she did.Karolina gasped in horror as Gert struggled to her feet.The second cannon boomed.

Gert was next, then.Natasha drew her knives, starting towards Gert swiftly.Before she could reach her, however, there was a sharp pain in her stomach.She stopped dead.

The tip of Karolina’s sword was sticking through the front of her shirt, stained with blood and gleaming bright.Natasha staggered, pulling herself off of the sword and falling to one knee.Gert started towards her, but Natasha forced herself to her feet.She glanced between Gert, her face a mask of fury, and Karolina, still clutching the bloody sword.There was only one thing to do in this situation.

Natasha ran.

Running was, in this case, not her best plan.Of course, she’d had no way of knowing that her path would take her straight into Okoye, the girl from District Ten.

A third and final cannon sounded off.

 

“Are you sure she went this way?”Jean asked again.She and Mantis were trudging though the undergrowth, searching for some sign of their missing ally.

“No.”Mantis told her again.“I have no idea where she is.”

“But this is the way she _went_?”Jean rephrased her question.

Mantis nodded.

They continued in silence for a while.Jean’s senses were on high alert.A rustling in the bushes?Could be Carol, or possibly the person who killed her.The chirping of a bird?Could have been startled by Carol, or by someone coming to murder them.

There was a faint noise from behind them, like the crunch of a stick under someone’s shoe.Jean did her best not to react as she wrapped her hand around the hilt of her knife.

The noise came again, and Jean turned around.“I know you’re there.”She called, doing her best to ignore the rapid beating of her heart.

There was a moment of silence.Then Carol Danvers stepped out of the undergrowth, fire in her eyes and a sword at her hip.

“Step away from her.”She told Jean in a steely voice.

Before Jean could react, Mantis was stepping between them.“She’s not going to hurt me.”The litter thirteen-year-old declared.

“You don’t know that.”Carol said.“You can’t trust her.”

“She helped me find you.”Mantis insisted.  
Carol hesitated, then sighed.“Alright.”She said, nodding at Jean curtly.“Allies.”

 

 

Tony crept through the woods, keeping one hand on the weapons in his pocket.Despite the disaster that had befallen Charles, he and Pepper _did_ need food, and so they had set more snares.Smaller ones, this time, in the hopes that they could catch a rabbit or a squirrel instead of another tribute.Stealth was not Tony’s best skill, although he wasn’t completely hopeless; Pepper had been the one to suggest they check the snares during the broadcast, when the loud Capitol anthem would cover up the sounds of their footsteps.

Pepper was guarding their supplies while Tony snuck out to check the snares.The previous night, they had done the opposite, but now it was his turn.As the music swelled and the faces of the deceased tributes shone in the sky, he ducked under a tree branch and reached for the first snare.

Nothing.That was disappointing, but not too surprising.They had five snares in total, the the night before only two of them had caught prey- one a squirrel and the other a woodpecker.He moved on towards the next snare, but stopped short when he saw movement.

There were two figures there.One was taller than the other, broad-shouldered and muscled.The other was short and slim, and even in the dim evening light Tony could make out the glimmer of red hair.Jean Gray, then, and Carol Danvers.He held still, hoping the two would continue past him without there being a fight.

They did not move.Tony cursed his luck as he realized, too late, that the two weren’t traveling through the forest.He had stumbled across their camp, and he was outnumbered.

“Eleven dead.”Carol was saying as the music died down.“That means there’s only thirteen left.”

“Almost halfway done.”Jean agreed quietly.“All we have to do now is keep her alive until the others take each other out.”

“Lehnsherr and Killmonger are both still alive.”Carol pointed out.“And both of them from Ten.It’ll be hard.”

“We’ll make it.”Jean promised her.“I’m not letting her die.She doesn’t deserve to die like this.”

Tony had heard enough.They were both decently strong tributes, Carol especially.And they were protecting someone else, which made it three against one.He needed to get out of here, and fast.

Tony took a step back.A twig snapped.Carol and Jean’s heads both snapped towards the sound, and there was a moment of hushed silence. _Maybe they didn’t see him_.Then Carol’s eyes fixed on Tony, and she drew her sword.

He reacted on instinct.Pulling the weapons he had created from his pocket, he threw one of them towards his opponents.Both of them dodged the initial throw, but they weren’t prepared for the explosion that followed mere seconds later.It was a small blast, but it was the shrapnel that got them.A sharpened nail flew into Jean’s shoulder, but she had been standing farther away.Carol took most of the damage, screaming as bits of metal sunk into her flesh.

Even Tony hadn’t been quite far enough from the blast.A few shards of metal hit him square in the chest and he stumbled back.The grass where his bomb had landed caught fire, burning dry and hot.This whole section of the forest was dry; it wouldn’t be long before the trees caught too.

He ran.Jean ran, too.As the forest caught fire around them, she grabbed onto his shirt and pushed.The last thing Tony saw, as he fell backwards into the fire, was the deadly glint of her eyes.

Twin cannons sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear- Jean did not die. The two cannons were for Tony and Carol. Jean and Mantis both escaped (mostly) unharmed. Just so there is no confusion there.


	7. Day 3.5

“Well, today was certainly a bit more violent than yesterday!”Christine began, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face as she spoke.“We had five deaths- Chase from Four, Nico from Eleven, Natasha from Two, Carol from Six, and Tony from Three.

“In a move that nobody saw coming, Chase betrayed his new alliance and rejoined his previous one with Erik Lehnsherr and Natasha Romanoff.Well, I _say_ nobody saw it coming- I myself won quite a bit of money off of my bets.But once Chase led the others to his camp, he was killed by Lehnsherr.

“Almost immediately after this, Natasha got into a fight with Chase’s former allies.Gertrude Yorkes, Nico Minoru, and Karolina Dean worked together in an attempt to fight her off.Odds were high for Nico after her stunt yesterday, in which she killed a fellow tribute, but unfortunately luck was not with her today.Natasha killed her before being chased off by Nico’s allies.This brought her up to a total of two kills, and she surpassed Erik Lehnsherr as the tribute most likely to win.

“Unfortunately to those who placed their bets on our ruthless little vixen from Two, she was killed within an hour of this fight.After a potentially deadly blow from Karolina, Natasha fled the fight and crossed paths with Okoye from Ten.In her already weakened state, she was no match for her fellow tribute.

“Many of us thought that there would be no more deaths today, but that was not the case.Tony Stark from Three stumbled across Jean, Carol, and Mantis’s camp.He managed to take out Carol Danvers with one of his technological creations, but Jean Gray finished him off before escaping with Mantis.”

She looked rather distressed at this.As many viewers of her show would know, she had been very vocal about her favoritism for the tribute from Three.His death most likely lost her a lot of money in bets.

“That’s it for tonight!That leaves us with only… how many?That leaves us with only Eleven tributes remaining.It’s only been three days and we’re already over halfway done.This time tomorrow, we’ll be ready for you with the family interviews.Goodnight, Panem, and remember to collect your payouts from any and all bets within twenty-four hours of their completion.”

 

**Tributes:**

1\. Jean Grey

2\. Erik Lehnsherr

3\. Jane Foster

5\. Gertrude Yorkes, Thor Odinson

7\. Mantis, Eric Killmonger

8\. Karolina Dean

10\. Okoye, T’Challa

12\. Pepper Potts

 

**Deaths:**

  1. Bruce Banner (District Six.Killed by Eric Killmonger.)
  2. Scott Summers (District Twelve.  Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)
  3. Laura Barton (District Nine.Killed by Erik Lehnsherr.)
  4. Alex Wilder (District Eleven.Killed by Drax the Destroyer.)
  5. Ororo Monroe (District Four.Killed by Natasha Romanoff.)
  6. Drax the Destroyer (District Eight.Killed by Eric Killmonger.)
  7. Clint Barton (District Nine.Killed by Nico Minoru.)
  8. Charles Xavier (District One.Killed by Pepper Potts.)
  9. Chase Stein (District Four.Killed by Erik Lehnsherr.)
  10. Nico Minoru (District Eleven.Killed by Natasha Romanoff.)
  11. Natasha Romanoff (District Two.Killed by Okoye.)
  12. Carol Danvers (District Six.Killed by Tony Stark.)
  13. Tony Stark (District Three.Killed by Jean Gray.)




	8. Day Four: Poisoning the Well

Charles was dead.So was Natasha, and so was Chase.(That last one, he would freely admit, was his own fault.He had killed Chase himself only the previous day).And even Jean was missing, having run off on her own during the bloodbath.Erik was, as per usual, completely and utterly alone.

He was probably the strongest competitor left, at least in terms of supplies.Thor from Five could probably give him a good fight, but Thor had fled from the bloodbath and didn’t have supplies or weapons.Still, it wouldn’t do to attack him head on; if Erik was injured, his chances of victory would be practically nonexistent.

Something floated to the ground in front of him.A silver parachute.Erik glanced around one last time, just to be sure he was alone, before tugging it open.

Out fell a small glass vial with a stopper in the top.There was some sort of thin grayish-brown liquid inside- some Capitol concoction, no doubt. Erik opened it carefully and sniffed.

It stank of metal.Satisfied, he pushed the stopper back in and looked up at the sky.He had a tribute to find, and not much time to do it.

 

 

Gert staggered through the forest, gasping for breath.She knew it was stupid to leave, that she had a better chance of survival if she stuck with Karolina, but she couldn’t help it.She couldn’t bring herself to trust the girl.

Gert had trusted Chase, after all, and he had betrayed them.She _hadn’t_ trusted Nico- not after she had so coldheartedly killed the boy from Nine- and Nico had died defending them.So if she couldn’t trust her gut, and her gut told her to trust Karolina, then it was probably best that they parted ways.

She didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to get away.If someone found her, she was as good as dead.Her only hope right now was to stay hidden until the others had finished each other off, and hope that whoever was left would be easy to kill.So she headed away from the rocky hills, following the slope of the ground down into a flatland of elm trees and streams.She had to be _hours_ away from Karolina by now.

She heard a noise ahead and stopped dead in her tracks.The noise- footsteps, she now realized- was getting closer.She ducked behind a tree just moments before Thor Odinson stepped into view.

“There’s less than half of us left.”A female voice came from behind him.Moments later, Jane Foster appeared behind Thor, brushing a strand of her long hair out of her eye.“They’ll be coming for us soon.”

“Well, they’d have to find us first, wouldn’t they?”Thor gave her an indulgent grin.

“The arena isn’t infinite.”Jane pointed out, sounding worried.“Sooner or later, they’ll turn up at our doorstep.And something tells me they won’t be friendly.”

“Well, no.”Thor admitted.“This is the Hunger Games. _Nobody_ is friendly.”

“You are.”

Thor sighed.He and Jane were moving past Gert now, and she pressed herself into the bark of the tree in an attempt to stay hidden.

“We’ve still got a few days left.”He told Jane as they passed.“The Games have nevertaken less than a week.Let’s make the most of it.”

“Ok.”Jane smiled, linking arms with him.“So what’s for dinner today- salad, salad, or maybe salad?”

Thor laughed as they moved out of sight.Gert held still for a moment more before allowing herself to relax and take a shaky breath.So Thor and Foster were allied, and Gert had stumbled into their territory.That was unexpected, but probably not the worst thing that could have happened.After all, if she could keep an eye on them, see what plants they eat and what they don’t, she could probably keep herself alive for a while longer.And from what she’d seen, they weren’t actively looking for a fight, so she had at least a decent chance of staying hidden.

She could make this work.She could win the games.For the first time since her name had been Reaped, Gert Yorkes smiled.

She might actually have a chance.

 

 

There were footsteps in the bushes.T’Challa looked up, grabbing eyes scanning the trees for any sign of a threat.“Okoye?”He called quietly, tensing in preparation of a fight.She had left only an hour ago; she should not have been back yet.

“Not quite.”Another voice said.Killmonger stepped out of the shadows, his tone casual and his posture relaxed.

“Eric.”T’Challa greeted him, tense, as he stood up.

“I’ve been looking for you for _days_.”Killmonger continued, flicking a knife open and closed in his hand.“You and that girl of yours sure do know how to hide.”

T’Challa scowled, slipping his brass knuckles onto his fingers.“Are you sure you want to do this?” He tried.“It’s not too late.You can still walk away.”

“Ah, but how many sponsors would I lose if I did that?”He asked rhetorically.T’Challa blinked in surprise.Tributes generally didn’t address the Capitol so directly.“No, I can’t walk away.And even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

They were circling one another now, neither wanting to make the first move.

“Why me?”T’Challa asked him.“You’ve been tracking me for days.It was _my_ name you called when you killed Banner.Why?”

Killmonger shrugged.“Enemies sell tickets.A tribute going around murdering people?Not bad, but _everybody_ does that.A tribute relentlessly pursuing his arch rival?Now _that_ gets you sponsors.It was nothing personal.”

T’Challa took a deep breath.“How many?”He questioned.

“Hmm?”

“How many?”He repeated.“How many have you killed in my name?”

He shrugged easily.“Only three, so far.”He admitted.“Banner, of course.The boy from Eight.And the little redhead girl from Twelve.”

Pepper.Her face hadn’t been on the broadcast that night.Which meant she had just been killed earlier today.He’d heard the cannon, of course, but he hadn’t known who it was.

“Yeah, her ally must have died last night.”Eric continued.“She’s clever, I’ll give her that, but she’s not much of a fighter.It was almost too easy.”

“And now you’ve found me.You think I will go down as easily as the others.I assure you, I will not.”

Killmonger laughed.“Oh, I’m counting on it.”

He lunged.T’Challa met him head-on, grabbing the arm that held the knife and twisting.

They met one another blow for blow, almost perfectly matched.When one of them scored a hit, the other did as well.Killmonger drew blood on T’Challa only seconds after T’Challa landed a hard fist on his opponent’s face.When T’Challa began to tire, he knew that Killmonger must be as well.

He wasn’t going to win the fight.He knew that much.They were too well-matched.Neither of them could win, not unless something happened very soon.

There was a small pond not far from where T’Challa and Okoye had made their camp.Slowly but surely they had been drawing nearer and nearer to the water’s edge.It wasn’t _deep_ \- the water only came to T’Challa’s chest at it’s deepest point- but it might be enough.

T’Challa allowed Killmonger to land a hit on his chest.He stumbled backwards into the pond.Killmonger followed him, a toothy grin on his face at his apparent advantage.

Another hit.The water was up to his knees, now.Just a moment longer, and then… Killmonger swung again, his knife heading straight for T’Challa’s jugular.T’Challa’s hand snapped out to grab Erik’s wrist, forcing his hand to drop the knife.

In his momentary surprise, Killmonger misstepped.T’Challa used every ounce of strength in his body to pull on Killmonger’s arm, pulling him off of his feet and throwing him deeper into the pond.

Their fight resumed with vigor.This time, however, T’Challa had the advantage.He pressed on, forcing Killmonger deeper and deeper into the pond.

Somehow, T’Challa got ahold of the knife.He lashed out at Killmonger, slicing deeply into his chest.The fight, along with the blood, drained out of his opponent as he sunk into the water.

T’Challa turned to exit the pond, feeling the weariness to his very bones.But before he could take more than a step, a submerged hand wrapped around his ankle.He was pulled under the water.

Sometime later, far above the surface, two cannons sounded.

 

 

“I’m telling you, I heard footsteps.”Jane Foster insisted.“Someone is watching us.”

“You need to rest.”Thor told her softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.Her skin was like ice, but it was covered by a thin sheen of sweat.

“I’m fine.”She insisted.

She was not fine.Thor’s own body was aching, his breaths heavy, and his stomach twisting in pain.And yet he, by comparison, looked like the picture of health next to Jane.He wasn’t sure what was going on.Disease seemed like too tame a death for the Gamemakers to have given them, and he was _sure_ he’d picked the same herbs and berries today as every day before this.

“Do you need anything?”He asked her, instead of pressing the issue.Even if she decided to ignore him and leave their shabby little lean-to, he didn’t think she’d make it ten feet.

“Water?”She asked hopefully.

He nodded.“I’ll go get you some water, and I’ll keep an eye out for other tributes while I’m there.Alright?”

She nodded, grimacing as the movement caused her more pain.Thor pressed a kiss to her forehead before slipping outside, making the short trek to the stream that ran behind their camp.

He knelt beside the water, splashing a bit on his face.He and Jane hadn’t gotten a lot of sponsors after the first day, when it became clear that he was not planning to go on a rampage and kill every tribute he could find.Still, they’d managed to get a metal water bottle, which he now filled up again with the cool water of the stream.

He paused.Something wasn’t right.He scanned the area around him again, trying to pinpoint what exactly was wrong.There- on the other side of the stream, the grass was pressed down in the imprint of a boot.He frowned, stepping across the stream himself and giving it a closer look.

A boot print. It was one size too small to be his, and several sizes too large to belong to Jane.Someone had been near their camp.He ran through the list of possible candidates quickly, scanning the trees around him for any sign of an attack.

A glint of glass caught his eye.He knelt down, reaching into the bushes and pulling out the vial with careful hands.It was empty, but there was a faint residue of something gray at the bottom of it.He glanced from the vial in his hand to the boot print in the grass, and his heart sank.

The sudden noise of a cannon startled him so much that he dropped the vial.It shattered against a tree root, but he didn’t care.He was too busy running back to his lean-to, abandoning the water bottle where it lay.

“Jane!”He called, bursting inside and coming to a halt beside her still form.His insides felt like they were burning, and he fell to his knees at Jane’s side.She wasn’t moving.

Trembling now, he reached out to feel her neck.There was no pulse.He took a deep, shuddering breath.

It was Lehnsherr, Killmonger, T’Challa, or Okoye.Those were the only people whose footprint it could have been.He liked to think either of the tributes from Ten would have at least had the decency to face him who they did it, instead of slipping poison into their water supply.Which meant it was one of the two Eriks.

He kissed Jane one last time, not even trying to stop the tears that were running down his face.Then he stood up and left the lean-to, his heart set.He was going to track down whoever did this, and he was going to kill them, whatever it took.Even if it was the last thing he did- which, judging by how fast the poison had acted on Jane, it might very well be.

The time to be peaceful was over.Now, it was time to get revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages, but here I am with another chapter! We've only got one day left of the Games, and tributes are dropping like flies. Who do you think will win?
> 
> Next update expected... at some point within the next six months? Here's hoping.


End file.
